Ckarles h



c; H. GRANT.

TOY AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2l. |919.

Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

Il INVENTOR Caf/ Gra/7i BY v ATTORNEY UNITED STATES CHABLESH. GRANT, OF NEW YORK, Nl Y.

TOY AEROPLANE.

.A Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

Application led March 21, 1919. Serial N o. 284,161.

To all whom t may concern:

Be itknown that I, CHARLEFS. H. Grrexrri,A

a citizen of the United States, residing at the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Aeroplanes,.of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in a toy aeroplane having a propeller which is rotated by 'the torsional force of a twisted rubber band.

The principal objects of the invention are, first, to provide a body which is so constructed that the rubber band is concealed from view but is readily accessible for placement or replacement; second,` to provide the body with supports or skids so arranged that the device will rise into ight from a standing position, the rear skid being formed to provlde a hook for engaging one end of the rubber band; third, to provide 'the body with a durable bearin surface for the propeller shaft; and, fourt to provide exible and adjustable means for attaching the mam supporting plane to the body- I attain the objects specified, as well as others not specifically enumerated, bymeans of the device hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure l, is a vertical section taken through the longitudinal center line, and,

F 1g. 2 is -a bottom plan view of the device with the supporting planes broken away.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the body which is made of papier mch, balsa, or other suitable light and strong material. The body is made of a single piece of ma'- terial and is formed with ahollow interior 2 having a long and narrow opening, extending along the 'bottom through which access 1s had to the interior. rllhe front end or nose,of the body is pointed upward, as

shown, so as to bring the axis of rotation of the propeller approximately on the line of the center of resistance of rthe device.

The device is equipped with a m-ain `supporting plane 3, a vertical' tail 4, and a horimeans of a rubber 'band 16 which is tightly -wrapped around the -pla'ne and the body so as to flexibly bind the parts together.4 The back of the body, at the place of attachment of the plane, is preferably flattened to provide a flat surface for the plane to rest upon. The front edge of the plane normally abuts against a shoulder 17f formed on the front end of the body. A second shoulder 18,'elevated slightly above the shoulder 17, is provided u-pon which the front edge of the plane may be placed if Vdesired to .tilt the plane. This construction permits of adjustment of the position andangularity of the plane and also, because of its flexibility, tends to prevent the plane from` being Ibroken in case the device should fall or land sidewise. Furthermore, if desired, the plane maybe adjusted laterally with respect to the body so as to cause the device to fly in a circle.

The propeller 6 is provided with a shaft 7 which is mounted to rotate in a bearing inserted in a dowel pin 8 secured in the front .end of the lbody. The bearing is made of metal or other suitable hard material so as to -provide a duralble bearing surfacefor the shaft.

lThe inner end of the shaft 7 extends into the hollow space in the interior of the body and terminates in a hook 9, which engages Y a shackle 10 at one end of the rubber band motor 11, the shackle l2 at the other end of the motor 'being engaged in the hook-shaped part of the member 13, as seen in Fig, 2.

A metal cap 14 is fitted on the rear tapered end of the body to reinforce the same.

The member 13, which is preferably made of a single -piece of wire, is fastened in place by being inserted vertically through the end of the body and reinforcing cap and having its upper end upset or riveted to hold it in position. The lower extremity of the member 13 is bent forward into the hollow interior ofthe bod and then backward under the end of the ody, as shown in Fig. 2, to give the appearance of a skid and to provide a hook for fastening the rear end of the rubber band motor. y

A pair ofsupporting members or skids 15 are fastened to the front part of the body and project forwardly of the propeller so as to form a guard therefor. The front skids 15 extend downward farther than' the rear skid 13 so that, when the toy is placed on a fiat surface, it will be inclined upward from the rear end toward the front, and is thus enabled .to rise into ilight from a standing position.

From the foregoing description taken in.

connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that I have provided a construction whereby the rubber band motor 11 can be easily assembled in place by merely readily replacing the motor 11 with a new` one in case of breakage. y

do not limit myself to the precise constructionand arrangement of parts hereinabove set forth, as I am aware that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as pointed out in the claims.

What I claim is:

' l. A toy aeroplane comprising a hollow body open at the bottom, supporting planes, a propeller revolubly mounted in the front end of the body, and a rubber band motor disposed Within the body and detachably connected to the propeller, said motor being insertible or removable through the opening in the bottom of the body.

2. A toy aeroplane comprising a hollow body open at the bottom, supporting planes, a propeller, a propeller shaft mounted in a 'bearing at the front end of the body and terminating at its inner end in a hook, a hook-shaped member secured to rear end of the body and projecting into the interior thereof, a rubber band disposed within the body and havinga shackle'at each end, said rubber band being detachably engaged in the hooks and being insertibleor removable through the opening in the bottom of the body.

ing below and in front of the propeller to' form a guard therefor, a hook-shaped ment ber secured to the rear end of the body and having a portion which projects into the interior of the body, a rubber band motor disposed within thebody and detachabiy secured at its ends to the propeller and the hook-shaped member respectively, said rubber band being insertible or removable through the opening in the bottom of the body.

4. In a toy aeroplane of the character described, the combination of a body having a propeller. mounted in its front end, said body having its forward portion slanted upward so as to bring the axis of rotation of the propeller substantially on the line of the center of resistance of the device, and having a stepped shoulder formed onits upper surface, a main supporting plane having its front edge abutting against the shoulder, and a rubber band tightly Wrapped around the plane and the body whereby to flexibly and adjustably bind the parts together.

CHARLES H. GRANT. 

